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Star tracking: behind the scenes of the Star Trek Into Darkness game

From left: Zachary Quinto as Spock in Star Trek Into Darkness footage; a 3D scan of Quinto's head, in full Spock makeup; The untextured 3D model of Spock, based on the 3D scan; the fully-rendered head

This article was taken from the May 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.

The latest Star Trek video game, set in the blockbuster movie's new universe, is all about teamwork -- and one of science fiction's most enduring pairings. JJ Abrams's 2009 reboot of the evergreen space tale may have created a new timeline, but its central characters have been going strong since 1966 (or stardate 1312.4, to be precise). The odd-couple dynamic between the impetuous, gung-ho James T Kirk and his buttoned-up straight man Spock is at the heart of the film and the franchise.

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How Spock appears in the game

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It's no surprise, then, that the Star Trek video game, set between the remake and the upcoming Star Trek Into Darkness, is designed for two players -- all its creator Digital Extremes needed was a Tricorder-scan-perfect recreation of Starfleet's finest. That process began with "digital sculptures" -- 3D models based on photographs of stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. But the resulting images didn't cut it. "The human eye is pretty sophisticated and you could quickly notice the differences," explains Paramount creative executive Brian Miller, who is overseeing production. It just didn't look right." Fortunately, there is a rich source of data on how the "real" Kirk and Spock moved and behaved -- in the film's extensive footage. "We spent months looking at everything, from the way the actors hold their weapons to how they gesture to each other," says Miller, 39. The next step was to subject the actors to full body and facial scans to polish up the accuracy. Along with their vital statistics, the two contribute the voices of their characters in the game.

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Other USS Enterprise officers were recorded in studios from New Zealand to London (where Simon Pegg's one-liners and improvisations as chief engineer Montgomery Scott led to new scenes being built into the game).

But Kirk and Spock are the undoubted stars of the show -- and the actors had some ideas of their own. "They know their characters inside and out," says Miller. "When Pine and Quinto offer a suggestion to make their character sound more authentic, you listen to them." Sounds logical, captain.